Those Marauders, Eh?
by TheFollowers
Summary: The Marauders are awesome, hot, funny, and always interesting. They had the best time at Hogwarts, in many ways... this will be a story of friends, enemies, pranks and ROMANCE! Ships are Jily, Blackinnon, Frank/Alice etc. Rated M to be safe! JUST ADDED NEW CHAPTER longer and more interesting. Follow it, favourite it, review it, love it!
1. Chapter 1

Perspiration seeped from every pore in his body. It pooled in the valleys of his folded brow, which was furrowed in intense concentration. His palms became clammy in a few short moments. He itched to rub them off on his trousers, but didn't dare. This was a complicated spell; he knew he had to concentrate.

It was a blustery day, and a bone-chilling autumn wind was scuttling the crisp, curled brown leaves across the grass. The ground here was sodden, mire, swamp, a muddy bank of the great lake by the wizarding school of Hogwarts. This close to the thick reeds, the sounds of nestling moorhens and chirring chicks could be heard. Lichen draped in abundance over even the thinnest branches of the nearby tree. The pastel green strands had grown to extraordinary lengths in the moist weather, and the waving tendrils had become channels for the last drips of the cold showers, which had buffeted Hogwarts for the last fortnight. Now there was a steady patting as more freezing little drips joined a calm pool beneath the sighing tree.

It was a restful place, cool, somewhat refreshing, but still the boy was sweating profusely. He stood rigid, but did not look alert; his habitual shoulder droop prevented that. He was utterly oblivious to his beautiful surroundings, being so immersed in his incantation. Eventually, beads of sweat escaped from his forehead and fell into his eye. Cursing, he broke off the spell to hastily swat them away. He buffed his face with the cotton of his uniform shirt, and felt better. He returned to the incantation, hoping that this time, _this time_, he would manage it.

It was something he had been researching for months, something he was desperate to master. He was confident that no-one in his class had managed this spell before. He was determined to be the first to learn it, and would be, as usual. He was as stubborn as a donkey when he had to be. He had researched it meticulously in the library, with a furtive foray into the forbidden section for final information. And for the last week he had come down to the lake to try and crack it. Today, he was certain, would be the day he did it. Despite his assurance, it was still proving to be a challenge, even for him.

He screwed his brow once more and began to mutter the crucial words, ''_Vido leo, vido felix, vido vacca, vido lupus, vido terra, vido caelo…_''

As he continued, the world began to change around him. The tree, the lake, the grass and mud melted away, to be replaced by a field of wild grasses. Clipped hedges fringed the area, which was a precise square. He knew these hedges to be the barriers of his vision. The boy's body was still by the lake, at Hogwarts, but his mind was free to roam in this space. Animals began to fill the field. A snake, a lion, an eagle, a badger. Then people arrived too. He went to each, talking to them experimentally. He found that they did and said what he expected or desired them to. When he was ready, he muttered, ''_Finite incantem,_''and returned to himself. He staggered slightly; the spell had tired him.

Beaming, he allowed himself to sit. When his exhaustion subsided, he decided to attempt his next spell. This one was simpler, but would perhaps be more exciting and… useful.

He stood once more, took out his wand and said in his most confident voice, ''_Summus sum!_'' Almost at once he felt a gentle tingling in his hands, which spread along his arms to his shoulders, and then down his body to his feet. His neck and head were unaffected, but considering the effects of the spell, he thought, that was a good thing. Then, as quickly as it had come, the tingling sensation left. He did not feel any different – perhaps it had not worked. He walked over to a large rock not far behind the tree and placed his palm on its rough surface. He clenched his hand over it, and to his joy a great piece of the boulder came away in his hand, crumbling as he applied more pressure. He laughed maniacally, punching the rock repeatedly as he did so, watching his fist break through it like it was paper. The spell had worked to perfection. However, once he was done with the rock, the tingling returned and he sighed, instinctively aware that his sudden strength was being taken from him after just five short minutes. Some improvements would have to be made to the spell.

He waited for the prickly feeling to cease and then walked back round the tree. He was approaching his favourite place by the reeds when he saw the last people he would want to see on earth, sitting where he had been minutes before.

''Hey look there, Padfoot! Moony get your face out of that book, we have a guest!'' James smirked, not even realising in his glee that he had not addressed the whinging Peter Pettigrew.

''Ah,'' purred Sirius, malicious joy in his eyes, ''it looks like Snivellus has decided to pay us a visit.''


	2. Chapter 2

Severus gulped. The four Marauders were notorious. They were irresistible to girls (with the exception of Peter), the most hilarious and ingenious pranksters, scourge of the professors and that morning, as Severus 'Snivellus' Snape had practised his new spells, they were striving to become animagi.

Their motive was Remus. Poor Remus had been a werewolf for as long as they had known him, and every full moon the three others watched with sad eyes as he left their dormitory for the Shrieking shack. There, they knew, he would wait until agony consumed him, and he became a creature of the night, claws splitting out from his fingers, fur sprouting on his back, but his eyes – they remained almost human, squinted as waves of white pain racked his body.

It was Sirius and James who came up with the idea – of course it was not dim-witted Peter – to accompany Remus as animals themselves. But it had been Peter, so desperate to please, who had spent the time in the library researching and finally discovering the possibility of animagi. Sirius and James were pleasantly surprised, and set about working out the process. In the end, most of the thinking was theirs.

First the boys had to discover the form they would take, so that they could accurately envisage the animal in order to become it. James, idly transfiguring a pencil one afternoon, had, in some way he could barely explain, conjured up a huge stag. It wasn't deliberate, and that was how he knew the stag was exactly what he wanted to be as an animagus. Sirius had done it next, with a pebble, eventually creating the large black dog with calculating eyes. He fell in love with the dog, somehow it reminded him of himself, but different. He knew he would become the dog. Peter managed it last. While James chose the stag because it had come of its own accord, and Sirius the dog because he was fascinated by it, Peter was forced to become a rat as that was all he could manage. Sirius and James had a hard time hiding their amusement at this.

That day they were ready to attempt the final stage. They brought out the objects that had provided their animals – for James a pencil, for Sirius a pebble and for Peter a lump of clay – and transfigured them into the full size animals. Then they had to look into the animals eyes and imagine that they were the animals, get inside their heads. When they did this, the two bodies would merge and the boys would take their animal forms for the first time. They were just about to begin this process, Remus watching with amused curiosity from where he was leaning on the lichen-laden tree, when Remus hissed in alarm. ''Someone's coming,'' he whispered, ''hide those animals!''

With casual flicks of their wands, Sirius and James returned the animals to the innocent items they really were. Peter, in his alarm, was not quick enough and Sirius, not bothering to contain a frustrated sigh, did it for him. Then they all put away their wands, Remus opened his copy of _The Uses of Fire Crab Fuel in Potions and Other Media _and Sirius and James started to talk nonchalantly. This was how that sly Snivellus found them.

Severus turned to run at the sight of them. He wanted no trouble, he was just innocently – well, perhaps not innocently – practicing some of the spells of his own invention, he wasn't asking for the beating he was sure to get. Soon enough, all of the Marauders were chasing him with joyous laughter as he sprinted round the lake. However, Severus was tired and his weak legs failed him. In retrospect, he should have used _summus sum_ but his mind was blank with dread. Or _callidus sum_, that would have prevented the blankness.

As he passed the great flank of the Forbidden Forest he heard a whistling and felt a heat at the back of his neck. A spell! Before he could shout a counter curse he was lifted off his feet and dangled upside down, a metre in the air. _Levicorpus_, James' favourite. Sirius cast _stupefy_, the golden ball flew towards Severus, who whipped out his wand and brought up a shield just in time. Sirius lined up another spell and in desperation Severus fired a _sectemsempra_ at each Marauder. Chuckling, each of them dispelled his attempt, even Peter. ''That's a pretty nasty curse you've got there, Snivellus,'' laughed James.

''It's a shame you can't put any power into it,'' Sirius joined.

''Leave me alone!''

''Why would we do that, Snivellus?''

''And don't call me Snivellus,'' he muttered, before firing the _stupefy _he'd been charging up behind his back. Golden orbs spat out in the direction of the Marauders. Sirius, James and Remus dodged them, but Peter was less fortunate, taking three in the chest and passing out on the spot.

''Risky, Snivellus,''

''You still have some lessons to learn,''

''What do you think, James?'' This was Sirius, ''_Expelliarmus _or my new hex?''

''Hmm… Let's treat Snivellus to that hex this time, eh? Oh wait, I have a better idea!''

''Both!'' They said in unison.

And so Severus felt his wand fly out of his hand, and soon after the hex hit him he began to cough uncontrollably, before his lunch made an unwelcome appearance. Sirius held out his wand, wanting to maintain the effects for as long as possible. I will kill you all, thought Severus, every one of you, and you will each die a new and excruciating way!

Just as the last of Severus' stomach juices slipped to the ground (he was still upside down at this point), the boys heard a sudden furious scream. James turned and saw a flash of fiery red hair and glinting green eyes as none other than Lily Evans stormed towards the Marauders, her face thunderous. James felt a sudden weight in the pit of his stomach, like it was full of lead.

''WHAT, Potter, do you think you are DOING?''

''Lily…'' bleated Severus.

''Shut up, Snivellus,'' spat Sirius, who did not care half as much as James about Lily's approval.

''Oh Merlin, here we go again,'' sighed Remus, who glanced at Peter balefully.

Peter merely whimpered in fear.

''Uh, uh Lily… I, uh… Err…'' James stuttered, clearly in some distress.

''How DARE you abuse Severus like that!'' she screeched, releasing him from his hex with a flick of her wand. James cut off his _levicorpus_ and Severus tumbled to the ground, trembling.

''I… It's just a bit of fun, Lil…''

''A bit of fun?! A bit of FUN?! You think Severus was enjoying himself?''

There was a pause as James went as red as Lily's hair and looked down to his shoes. ''No, Lily.'' Honestly, Sirius thought, couldn't James see that she acted as though she was a headmistress and he a naughty pupil? But no, James was far too smitten to see any flaws in Lily.

Huffing, Lily went over to Severus and helped him up. ''And to think, Potter, that you expect me to love you! What can be going through that thick skull of yours?''

''Lily, please-''

''And don't call me Lily! You can call me Lily when I like you, which I never will!''

''What would you prefer? Sweetheart?'' offered Sirius.

''You're just as bad, Black! As far as all of you are concerned, I'm Evans if you talk to me. But I will never talk to you again!'' she hissed, and with that, led Severus back towards the castle.

Sirius, Remus and Peter looked at James patiently, expectantly. ''Come on guys,'' he sighed, finally, ''I don't feel like working on the animagi today.'' Silently, the four friends wound their way up to Hogwarts, slowly so that they didn't have to confront Lily and Snivellus again.


	3. Chapter 3

The four boys slowly approached the great castle, taking care not to be seen. This early in the morning, a small group of sixth year students meandering unattended up from the lake was just asking for McGonagall to seize them. Once they were under the strong, curving arch of the entrance hall, Sirius dropped back from the other Marauders. He had different plans. As quietly as he could he crept across the huge patterned tile floor, but this didn't prevent James seeing him. To Sirius relief, his best friend merely gave a knowing wink behind Remus' back as Peter scampered around, vying for James' attention.

Little freak Peter, thought Sirius as he ducked beneath a smaller arch and made his way to the old charms classroom. In there, he knew, was an abandoned teacher's office, the small wooden door neatly tucked away in the back left corner. He entered the classroom and looked around for the almost hidden office, which James had told him about after he had to clean out the classroom for yet another detention session. ''It's perfect mate,'' James had chuckled, ''Ideal for your little… adventures.''

Sirius' shoes made a soft clicking noise in the echoing space. Reaching the door, he gently pushed it open, turning the metal handle with great care so as not to disturb anyone passing in the corridor. He wished he had had the forethought to bring the Map; he would have been able to see if anyone was approaching. No-one was in the office, but that was fine with Sirius – he could wait. He had half an hour to spare before his Potions class began, and he would happily not attend Potions with the doting Slughorn in favour of his planned activity here. He seated himself on the desk chair and settled in to wait. Realising it was a little cold, he cast an acclimatisation spell. His girl would appreciate that.

After a while, she arrived. Sirius purred in appreciation as he stood to meet her. She was looking particularly ravishing today, her long hair artfully curled and falling over her shoulders in glossy waves. Her face was fixed with its usual challenging smile, as if to say, ''Is that the best you can do? I dare you to show me better.'' For Sirius, her red lips smiled a little wider, blue eyes sparking a little brighter, and he adored her for it. But what he loved most was the way she spoke for herself, how she always fought her corner and how she never gave in. She may appear as though she was, but Marlene McKinnon always had the upper hand. There were ulterior motives to every decision she made, even if she wasn't the brightest girl in the school. This attracted Sirius beyond belief.

It was a fact that would surprise the entirety of the school of Hogwarts, but it was indeed a fact that Marlene McKinnon and Sirius Black had never made love. The few people who knew that they hadn't done the act (James, Remus and Lily, who was Marlene's friend) were surprised like this because it seemed impossible that a girl could attract Sirius Black without taking her clothes off, or growing big bosoms, neither of which Marlene had ever done. Her bosoms were pert, B size things, her clothes only came off in front of her roommates, and even then she was embarrassed. How had she attracted the notorious womaniser Sirius, let alone get into a serious relationship with him?

Before Marlene, Sirius had kissed every girl in the school, with the exception of older girls who made him feel inadequate and Slytherins who made him want to regurgitate his last meal. This was something he was intensely proud of, but then he had kissed Marlene, after following her for weeks on his best behaviour, and suddenly it all melted away, and he realised what was really important to him, what really anchored him to this world. It wasn't his family – he despised them – it wasn't his hopes and dreams, it wasn't even James; it was Marlene.

So now they met up most days in various places around the castle before classes, to spend some real quality time together. For Marlene Sirius would wait. For now, he was content to hug her and kiss her and end it at that. Merlin – he felt honoured just to know her and see a side no-one else saw. He wouldn't, couldn't, pressure her into anything. The thought of causing her pain gave _him_ a greater pain than anything else.

''Morning, Sirius my love,'' she beamed coming towards him and pulling him onto a sofa.

''Marlene…'' he whispered, awed as always. She raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows at him, expecting a compliment.

''You know that you are too beautiful for a compliment, Marlene.''

''I suppose you never had to compliment your girls before,'' she teased, with what Sirius thought to be the sexiest wink possible, ''You would just have them in a bathroom and leave, right?''

''Those were the _ordinary_ girls, darling. But you are better than ordinary. You are absolutely fantastic.''

''And what does that earn me? A month of courtship, then two times and then you leave?'' she continued the little game.

''Marlene, you do know that I am hopelessly in love with you, right?''

''The great womaniser Sirius Black, in love? The devil in disguise who's had every girl not in Slytherin, in love?''

''I think you are in need of proof, Miss McKinnon.''

''Of what, Mr Black?''

''My love of you.''

''Is that so?''

''Or perhaps you don't need proof – you just want it…''

''Desperately, Sirius.''

With those hushed words, whispered throatily by his ear, Marlene turned her head and they shared one of the best snogs of their lives. The world fell away until it was just the two of them, adoring, respecting and totally loving one another.

When Sirius reluctantly broke away to leave for Potions, Marlene watched him go wistfully, her heart thudding and her breath catching. He went with a final heart-melting glance, and she heard the door to the charms room click shut. Crap, she thought, I really have fallen for him.

Putting a tentative hand to her now warm, puffy lips, Marlene departed to her class.


	4. Chapter 4

James, Remus and Peter strolled towards the dungeons for their Potions class. James, aware of Sirius' activities, was keeping the pace slow so that his best friend could catch up with them. James wished that Sirius was with him at this moment, simply because Wormtail would not leave him be.

''Oh James, can you tell me the answer to question six… James! Wouldn't it be such a great idea if we… James, will you be my partner in Potions today… Can we pair up on that assignment today James?''

''Moony please shut him up!'' and with the threat of Remus getting involved (frankly Peter was scared of the tall, quiet boy), Peter fell silent.

James sighed in relieved pleasure, relishing the peace. Suddenly he saw a flash of red hair at the end of the long, dim-lit dungeon corridor. Remus thought he saw Snape by her side, but James was gone already. ''Evans!'' he cried, aware that she wanted him to call her that, before sprinting headlong down the slippery hallway. He stepped in a puddle and slid to his knees, but was back up in a flash and tearing after her. Remus rolled his eyes and held out an arm to prevent Peter following James excitedly.

''Evans, Evans!'' James hollered as he rounded the corner and slammed into the petite redhead waiting behind it. Lily had been seething before, preparing what she would say to James, but now she was furious. Their books flew up into the air, papers cascading everywhere. An inkpot shattered on the stone flags and now deep blue tendrils were seeping between the tiles.

Both were up in a second, hot-headed Lily fuming immediately. ''Potter, I can't beli-'' she broke off and winced in pain. James, scrambling to his knees, saw the faint mark on her cheekbone, rapidly developing into a hot pink bruise. Before he could stop himself, he reached out and tenderly touched her hand where it cupped the side of her face. Two pairs of eyes, one chestnut, one green, darted up and met each other. For a fleeting moment they stayed there, knees touching as they knelt, eyes locked and both their hands on Lily's face.

Then her quill, a pale cream feather flecked with brown, fluttered down between them, breaking the eye contact for a millisecond. This was all Lily needed to come to her senses. Before James could even blink, she had her wand out. But Lily didn't get the chance to jinx James. Severus stepped between them and fired a vicious hex into James' face. James had just enough time to be repulsed at how he had cast it without speaking before his vision blurred and he toppled backwards, rigid like a falling tree, slamming with all his weight to the cold floor. Lily rubbed her cheek, gathered her things and stumbled to Potions, Severus by her side.

Meanwhile, Sirius had joined Remus and Peter and laughed when he heard how James was after Lily. Remus heard a thud through Peter's constant chatter and jogged to the place he had last seen James. Expecting to see a spitting row, Remus and Sirius were somewhat surprised to find James lying spread-eagled, twitching on his back amongst a sea of papers, books and spilt ink. Sighing, they picked their way over to James and lifted their friend up and away from the mess. Remus and Sirius recognised Severus' choice for James, but they of course thought that Lily had used it; _scurrilis vitupero_, a fairly difficult and very unpleasant spell. Remus scrunched up his eyes and remembered a textbook passage on it.

_Spell: scurrilis vitupero_

_Difficulty: intermediate – difficult_

_About: this spell is not commonly used in a duel (as it is unreliable) but as a punishment for those 'inferior' to the caster. A great fan of this spell was Salazar Slytherin, who used it on muggle-born witches and wizards in particular. More recently it has become a favourite of students at wizarding school as it both demonstrates skill and disposes of enemies._

_Effects: this spell is unusual in that the distance from which it is fired changes its effects. Fired from duelling distance, the spell induces headaches, blurred or hazy vision, flickering of the eyelids, twitching of the fingers and temporary memory loss. If fired from a distance greater than that used for duelling, the spell only causes momentary loss of muscle control. If fired at point blanc range, as it is most commonly used, the spell is at its most potent. From this distance, the victim will experience loss of muscle control, extreme headaches or migraines, very blurred vision, rapid flickering of the eyelids, whole body twitching and temporary memory loss of a longer period such as a day._

_In extreme cases, this spell may cause muscle depletion (causing weaker muscles for a time), crippling pain in the head, temporary loss of vision, uncontrollable spinning of the eyeballs, whole body convulsing, dangerous arching of the back, extreme nausea and permanent memory loss of around five minutes before the spell was cast. In these cases the victim must be given medical care as soon as is possible._

Remus was not one to swear, but on this occasion he did. Peter simply looked on in utter horror. Sirius, knowing the spell but not its effects, looked at Remus urgently. Remus peeled back one of James' eyelids and saw his eyeball spinning sickeningly fast. By the second his twitching was becoming convulsing, and he was moaning in pain. Suddenly his torso lifted off the ground and his back arched massively. Remus heard the bones crunching together before James went momentarily limp. A heartbeat passed before the convulsions began again. He began to splutter and soon vomited all over the walls, the floor, Remus and himself. He was bleeding from the back of the head, from when his muscles collapsed and he hit the floor.

''Peter!'' Remus shouted, the loudest he had ever spoken in his life, ''Get Madam Pomfrey, NOW!'' To his credit, Peter ran his absolute fastest to James' only hope. ''Sirius, stay here and help me control him!'' Remus and Sirius sat by their dear friend, wiping the sweat from his brow and trying to hold him down as his back arched to new heights and he came closer to breaking his own back.

Madam Pomfrey came in minutes. James was steadily worsening.

''Oh my dear Lord!'' she screamed at the sight of James, and Sirius and Remus covered in his blood and vomit. ''Help me take him to the hospital wing!''

The three of them lifted James with their wands and rushed him away. Peter was told to stay behind and gather James' things before following them. Peter was squeamish and the others saved him the sight of his idol in such a terrible state.

They burst into the hospital wing and laid James straight onto a bed. Remus and Sirius again restrained him while Madam Pomfrey mixed a poultice and bandaged James head before touching him lightly on the forehead with her wand and whispering _servo_, a charm to prevent nausea, followed by _caput servo, _which ceased the convulsions.

''There's nothing I can do about the eyes or the memory loss,'' she sighed, ''I can mix a potion to restore his muscles though, and I'll bring that in a minute. You might want to stay with him in case he wakes up. Try to work around the gap in his memory.'' With that, she left to prepare the potion.

''Sirius, I can't believe that she would do this, even to James.''

''Yeah, little Lily Evans. Who knew she had it in her?''

''Sirius, I know that look. You mustn't touch Evans. James'll kill you!''

''Only because he can't remember what she did.''

''Listen, I thought I saw Snivellus with her, it might have been-''

''No, James wouldn't go after her if he was there.''

''He might, Sirius. He's stubborn enough to try…''

''I'm sure it was Evans, she's the only one we know was there for sure. And she's going to pay for what she's done to James. I'm going to get her alone and-''

Before Sirius could continue, Peter burst in with James' books. Sirius dropped his voice and finished:

''Remus, I'm not as smart as you, but I know an obvious culprit when I see one. Evans did this, but this is nothing compared to what I'll do to her.''


	5. Chapter 5

Severus smiled to himself. That curse was a particular favourite of his, but he'd never had an opportunity as irresistible as the one James had presented to him. Best of all, Lily hadn't even protested as he pushed in front of her and shot the curse right between James's eyes. She can't know, he thought, the effects of that spell! He was writhing in glee on his stool, to the extent that he slipped off onto the floor right in front of Slughorn. ''Sorry, professor, I… I was just excited.''

''Nice to see you happy for once, Severus!'' chuckled the kindly professor, inciting sniggers from the rest of the class.

At that moment, Peter shuffled in. Unable to look at James anymore, he had been sent back to class. Curious about where the others were, she asked him, ''Where have the rest of your little group got to, little Peter?'' Snape felt anger welling up inside him. How could she care about where James was? But his fears were assuaged shortly after. ''I just want to know where my partner Remus has gone, I need him to count out the porcupine quills.'' That year Slughorn had paired them randomly, and so Lily was not working with Snape as he would have desired.

Peter, thinking that Lily had cursed James, piped up in his little voice to spite this girl who had cursed his hero James. ''I won't talk to you anymore! James is hurt because of you!''

Lily assumed he meant James was hurt because Severus always defended her so it was partly her fault. ''Well I'm sorry Peter but he deserved everything he got.''

''Then you are the most nasty person I know!'' Peter squeaked desperately. Lily gaped. Severus could feel his sides splitting and his face turning from sallow and pale to pink and red as he attempted to hold in a maniacal laugh. The Marauders thought that Lily had cast the spell! Obviously he was upset that Lily would now be targeted, but he, Severus, wouldn't be blamed! It took everything he had not to jump up and perform a gleeful dance right then and there, but he knew just how to play this one.

''Oh Peter, stop your wheedling! Lily may not like James, but she wouldn't be so mean. You know that as well as anyone. You should be ashamed of yourself, blaming her like that.''

''But Sev, you cast th-'' Severus cut her off before she could reveal him.

''Honestly Peter, I'm surprised at you. I thought you were the nicest of the Marauders, but now I see that you are just as bad as the rest of them.''

''Sorry, I just… Lily please, I'm so sorry I hurt you…''

''You? Hurt me?'' Lily laughed, ''Pathetic pandering Peter, never quite fitting in, never quite good enough. I could never be insulted by _you._'' Peter, heartbroken (he quite liked Lily, really), scurried to his desk. Of course he instantly forgave her, as he always did with Sirius and James, but he was still frightened and miserable. And he was angry with stupid Snivellus.

Slughorn stepped in at this moment, keen to prevent a fight erupting in his class. As he began to drone away about the properties of gillyweed, the students began to mix their potions. Lily joined Severus' group in despair of Remus ever showing his face this lesson. As Payella Frompwood added the porcupine quills with intense concentration, Lily whispered to Severus, ''Sev, why didn't you tell poor Peter that you cast the spell on James? It was like he thought I did it or something…''

''Don't worry, Lils, I'll tell him tomorrow, I have another class with him then.''

''Well… ok. I hope the others don't think I did it too. I don't even know what you cast, Sev.''

''That bitch Evans, I will…''

''Sirius, James is waking up.''

''And when he does I'm going to tell him exactly what his precious Lily has done!''

''No, no you mustn't!''

''Why? Give me one good reason.''

''If we don't tell him, then we can ease him to the news. If we just tell him outright there's no knowing what he might do.''

''I suppose…''

''And it might not have been Lily. I swear to you, Sirius, I saw Snivellus there. Only for a moment, but I definitely saw him.''

''Remus, we can't know for sure that Snivellus was there, but there's no mistaking Evans from that distance, what with her stupid red hair.''

''But we can't prove for certain that Lily did it either. Peter and I couldn't see roun the corner and you came along later. Listen, at least concede that Snivellus is more likely, if both of them were given the chance, to do this to James.''

''Fair point.''

''Good, now don't you try to tell James.''

''Yes, father.'' Remus shot him a reproving look before turning back to James who was stirring on the hospital bed.

''Mate…'' Sirius called softly.

''Sirius, are you there? I can't see very well.''

Sirius stomached his instinctive reply and said, ''Don't worry, I'm right behind you like a monster.''

James looked up and saw Sirius bending over him. ''Jeez Sirius, that's scary. Although I must say you make an excellent monster with that face of yours.''

''That's rich coming from you, Mr I-can't-see-very-well.'' But secretly, Sirius was relieved that his friend was healthy enough to tease him.

''I could see your unbeaten ugliness if I was blindfolded and standing a mile away. Anyway, why can't I see very well? I don't remember a thing.''

''It's probably the concussion,'' Remus interjected before Sirius could talk, ''You had a nasty collision with the dungeon wall.''

''Oh, that's right, we were going to Potions, and then…'' James screwed up his face in concentration. ''I can't remember after that, apart from spilt ink and papers and lying on the floor… was anyone with me?''

Sirius and Remus shared a glance before Remus spoke, ''You were running after Evans, and we let you go ahead. But you slipped in a puddle and hit your head as you went round the corner. None of us saw you slip, but we heard a thud. Evans probably saw you fall, and Snivellus might have been with her.'' Remus engineered a tale that was almost entirely truth, even if it was not the whole truth.

''Evans saw me fall?'' James looked ashamed, ''And that turd Snivellus?'' here he looked angrier, defending his pride.

'' He might have seen, but we don't know if he was there at all.''

''Ok,'' sighed James. There was silence for a few seconds.

''Oh!'' he cried suddenly, startling Sirius and Remus. ''Do you think Evans was worried? When I fell, was she worried?''

James' two best friends shared a glance once more. ''Yes,'' Sirius said, wincing, ''she was very worried indeed.''


End file.
